


The Anti-Valentine Party

by MTBlack



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-14
Updated: 2019-02-14
Packaged: 2019-10-28 00:26:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17777081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MTBlack/pseuds/MTBlack
Summary: "I'm sorry but I don't do Valentine's.""Glad to know you're only doing me."





	The Anti-Valentine Party

**Author's Note:**

> Hi @clarkgriffon! Hope you are well and starting a terrific day. At first I must confess I was terrified I wouldn't even write 1k and then this monster happened and now I'm terrified you won't like it. So I really hope you do! I had a blast writing it well intentioned fluff.

February 13 th , 2016 

Clarke shivers and snuggles half her face into her heavy white scarf. She should have foreseen that even in February, Chicago was way too cold for her liking – and she doesn’t discard the idea of having caught a bug causing her current runny nose and itchy throat.

She will only admit to herself to have low-grade fever enough to have fallen asleep on the bus – she will tell Raven she missed her stop because of social media, specifically Instagram. Hopefully, Raven will just be ecstatic of seeing her there. There is a party and she is not really the party-type, not to mention New York City was warmer enough to keep her there until Spring.

Yet the break-up card had been used, tearing her away from the polluted warm comfort of New York into the freezing grasp of the reportedly Windy City.

Raven had run away from the city that never sleeps precisely after not sleeping much herself. After a lab accident that almost left her without walking and six-month rehab, she quit her job, her cheating boyfriend and fled taking Clarke with her. The insurance money paid for a trip to Europe which Clarke tagged along, half gathering courage to switch from Med School to Arts and half wasting her trust fund in forgetting the girl who had broken her heart.

The trip lasted almost a year, and instead of parting ways when her Mom cut her funds, Raven got back with her – though not to New York where they had both grown up; she had found herself more restless than the city itself, all fallen out of love and decided to ran again. This time she stopped close, at the Second City, Chicago.

As Clarke moved back home, after finally quitting Medicine, while Raven moved out, the opportunities to meet Raven’s new place were always postponed and before long a year had passed. Five hours have proven too long a drive when she is juggling a job as apprentice in a Gallery and starting a new course of studies. Also, the fact that Raven still has more friends in New York than in her new place, had delayed her making this her first official visit.

Stumbling up the stairs to the house Raven shares, she coughs into her scarf and sniffles through her nose, holding the bag with the six-packs against her chest even tighter.  _ Maybe it was more than low-grade fever _ , she allows herself to think, while juggling the bag and trying to reach her phone on her left back pocket with her opposite hand.

Raven is supposed to open the door – she sees the ticks go blue but Clarke finds instead a tall girl in a red dress with black tights and a ridiculous headband with tilting hearts.

“Welcome to the first edition of our annual Anti-Valentine’s Party”, she yells at Clarke with so much energy that makes her smile and recoils at the same time.

When Clarke lets out a soft, “Hi, I’m Clarke”, the girl takes in her appearance and practically yanks her arm pulling her into the house.

“You are Raven’s friend. I’m Octavia, her roommate or landlord depending on the day,” she laughs as Clarke breathes in the warmth of the house. Octavia lets her in the hall.

“You can hang your coat there, you’re one of the first ones here, female Clark,” she points out as she away into what seems to be the kitchen, taking with her Clarke’s bag with the beers.

“Actually, K-E Clarke,” Clarke corrects taking off the several layers of clothes from her body and taking in the decoration of the place. Octavia’s energy when welcoming had clearly taken charge of the place – she could never imagine Raven hanging black hearts around the living room no matter how heart-broken she was. She didn’t know the other roommate, but the cheesy lines hanging around made her think it was all Octavia who was currently calling her from the next room.

“Come on in. The kitchen is way warmer. Raven and Bell shouldn't be away much longer”, she holds up a beer and looks at her slightly apologetic. “Hope you don’t mind we started on yours, Raven and Bellamy are precisely buying that.”

Clarke shrugs reassuringly and smiles in greeting at the rest of the people in the room.

Clarke feels as if she is moving on slow-motion, she feels a bit light headed and blames it on the sudden change of temperature. She tries to sit on the stool at the breakfast table that Octavia presides surrounded by three other people – two boys who introduced one another as Monty and Jasper and a girl, Harper.

“The only couple allowed,” quips Jasper.

Both Monty and Harper smile sheepishly while Octavia makes gagging sounds.

“Barely.”

Clarke is about to inquire on whose idea this party was but Octavia is faster and her questionnaire fills the air.

The beer affects her sooner than expected and half-way her bottle she’s leaning into her hand and fumbling with her words.

“Wow, Raven said countless times how you were going to out drink us,” Monty said.

“Yeah, we were about to start a pooling bet. Now I’ll bet my money on Bellamy without doubt.”

She tries to smile, but grimaces instead.

“I’m not feeling well”.

Octavia and Harper exchanges look and as Octavia offers her room, Harper pats her forehead. “You seem a bit feverish”.

Clarke does not have time to deny this because Raven barges in and engulfs her in a hug.

“Gosh, you don’t leave your house unless the weather is perfect and now you not only left New York but to come to a party,” her friend says against her neck, holding her tight.

Clarke grins. “I’d do anything for you, Reyes.” She breaks away. “But only once a year”.

Raven does not let go easily and studies her for a few seconds.

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah.”

“So, is anyone going to help me?”

What Clarke thinks it’s Bellamy’s voice disrupts the cheerfulness of the kitchen to momentarily shift it to the foyer, where all the people present except for Raven grab a pair of bags filled with alcohol and snacks and bring it into the kitchen. Clarke remains by Raven’s side who is gushing over lots of names of people who’s invited and how happy she’s Clarke’s finally there to meet all of her friends.

“You have met the big part, later today are coming Murphy, Emori, Echo and Shaw. Jackson said he’d drop by but I wouldn’t hold my breath”. 

Clarke forgets every name by the second but she’s not worried. She keeps on smiling even though she feels herself feeling even worse. Once all bags are set on the breakfast bar and Octavia has started to pass bowls and dishes around, Bellamy walks in and she sees him raise her hand in greeting when all around her goes blank.

* * *

 

She wakes up to a dark and unfamiliar room, warm under several blankets and a dim light filtering under the door. She gives herself a few moments, before reaching out her hand to the switch of the lamp on her right.

Several pictures of two slightly familiar people stare back at her at times and simply smile at the great nothingness at most. A few minutes still go by before Clarke remembers she at Raven’s house, or better said a house Raven shares with the people from the photographs surrounding her.

Clarke snuggles in the bed and thinks hard whether to get up or continue sleeping. She falls asleep again before she can make up her mind.

A terrible giggling wakes her up and she finds Harper and Monty giggling and kissing on the doorstep. Harper is the first to notice her body on the bed which ensues more giggling on her part – she’s still too asleep to say or do something. But a male voice comes to the rescue of the awkward situation yelling that his room is off-limits.

The giggling stops and the darkness returns to the room, only a dim light filtering from the window and the thud noise of the music from downstairs; it doesn’t take long for Clark to fall asleep again.

It is yelling what wakes her up now. Octavia’s voice, shirl rather startles her. A male voice who answer to a cold Murphy replies to her in an equally aggressive tone; yet, she can’t tell the words apart. A few minutes of yelling go by until Raven’s voice puts an end to all of it.

A greyish light filters into the room the next time her eyes open. The door has creaked open revealing a tall figure that moves, or at least attempts to move, stealthily into the room. Clarkes spies him from under the covers as he places a paracetamol blister, water and a thermos on the night table. She feels his eyes on her and in a move she would later attribute to the fever, her hand reaches out and grabs him by the wrist. Her feeble attempts to say thank you die in a smile he reciprocates after a few moments. He squeezes her hand before letting go, and before falling asleep once again, Clark thinks how handsome he is.

By the sun entering her window, she’s most positive it is around noon, so she’s surprised when her dying phone tells her is no late than 10.30 in the morning. After giving herself a few minutes to settle back in time and space, she decides her stomach has rumbled enough. She is aware she is still not at her best and that she has at least two more days of feeling lousy, but she has to eat or drink something at least.

Suddenly, she remembers the water on her bedside table and drinks it in almost one gulp along with the ibuprofen. Finally, she reaches for the thermos as well and unscrews the lid – the familiar smell of hot chicken soup hits her and after hesitating for a millisecond she drinks some of it as well. She snuggles once again in the bed and closes her eyes.

It takes her almost an hour to walk out of bed. She finds the bathroom easily as it is the only other door open on the upper floor. When she finally gathers strength enough to walk down, she finds Bellamy on the couch and realizes why there so many pictures of him, Octavia and who she knows realizes was their mom – he had given her room to her.

She is still analyzing how grateful she is when he opens her eyes, startling.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare,” she cringes at her own words while he continues to stare back at her. Only after a few seconds she realizes he is not really looking at her. He mumbles something akin to waffles and falls back into his makeshift bed.

Suppressing a giggle, Clarke runs into the kitchen where she founds Harper and Jasper shushing each other while doodling with a marker on Monty's face who sleeping soundly on the bar.

Her presence startles the young offenders who start pleading with her in half whispers. Clarke raises her palms. 

“I'm not going to tell Monty. I was here just to make myself some tea and maybe something to eat for you guys so you lot can resucitate”, her gaze on his sleeping form. “How can he sleep with you all over him”

Jasper shrugs while Harper replies: “He's a light drinker and... Well, he had too much to drink thanks to -”

“Harper, of course. The temptress here was trying to seduce him. Poor Monty”, he finished with a theatrical sigh. 

Harper rolls her eyes and tries not to laugh, she focus her attention on Clarke instead.

“Are you feeling better?” 

Clarke nods. “Much. It's just a cold left unsupervised for too long.”

Harper smiles back at her before adding: “You were saying something about food?”

“Well, I wasn't the best of the guests around passing out before you all did and having someone carrying me upstairs,” she points out. She is about to ask if they all spent the night there but she gathers as much from their looks. 

“It was nothing, though technically I only provided you with the ibuprofen while you waited for Raven to set her room for you,” Jasper interjects finishing a cat moustache on Monty's face. “All Bellamy and Raven's effort”, he looks up at her. “So, brunch. What did you have in mind?”

Clarke thinks of Bellamy briefly.

“Waffles?”

“Awesome!” Harper jumps off of the table waking up Monty in the process. “Good morning, sunshine. We're making waffles for breakfast.”

In the end, it is Harper and Monty who end in charge of waffles duty. Jasper gets assigned with making his famous hungover medicine, so Clarke assigns herself with setting the table and making juice as well as finding things to put on the waffles. There's a surprising amount of sweet things, whipped crea!m, ice cream, honey and ages jars of jam. After scourging the fridge, she manages to find some strawberries and apples.

She starts to feel a little agitated after a short while so she sits at the counter to prepare a mean tuna salad, which soon transitions to fruit chopping, then to coffee making and finally into entertainment once all that's done. In the middle of her recounting of Raven's attempt to punch a guy three times her weight in Berlin, Octavia's face appears on the door stating it smells like a god's food; and it is her roaring laughter which attracts Raven - who ends up finishing the story, with acting and all. 

“I'm glad you could make it, flu and all,” she reached for Clarke's arm and patted softly. “It is nice having you here and your condition gives me the chance to insist you to stay and you have to accept.”

Clarke frowned. “It is just a c-”

“Clarke, really? You went to freaking med school. You know way too well, no common cold gives fever. You are staying and it is final, you are no risking getting pneumonia just to get back home.” She pushes some dishes and cutlery into her hand to be set on the breakfast table.

“Fine. But I'm not taking anybody's room. I'll take the couch.”

Raven poses her lips to keep herself from smiling.

“I'm not the one you need to discuss this with.”

A sudden roar of laughter breaks the conversation. Octavia has relieved Raven on entertainment duty recounting the highlights of the party - and way to many shenanigans seem to have happened. Apparently there were 48 people without including Clarke.

“Which is no record actually,” Octavia ads upon seeing her and Raven's disbelieving expressions. She looks at Harper and Jasper who get to the table. “Remember my birthday party during my senior year. Bellamy almost killed me - somehow I managed to squeeze 98 people here.”

“He got sidetracked and attempt to murder your boyfriend instead,” said Jasper.

“Oh, yeah. Atom, sweet psycho.”

“Like all your boyfriends. I don't know why I bother,” came the groggy retort as Bellamy pushed the door to enter the kitchen. His eyes fell on Clarke while Octavia's retort fell on her brother's sudden deaf ears, “Well, I'm doing much better now without you  _ bothering _ . “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, thanks. For everything,” unconsciously she lowers her voice. “You didn't have to give up your room for me.”

He made a non committal sound as he started pouring coffee around. He looked up at her once he reached her mug. His eyes pierced her and she grew nervous under his gaze. “Coffee?”

Such a silly question and she feels her mouth going dry. Blaming it on any possible returning fever, her head nods on its own accord. A different pair of eyes are now piercing holes into her skull - she makes a conscious effort not to look in Raven's direction for a while.

She goes for a not so subtle distraction.

“So, whose idea was to throw an Anti Valentine's party?”

“Mine,” say three voices in unison. There's a moment of silence where the involved parties study each other before erupting into a roar of laughter.

“Raven and Bellamy's lousy love life were the actual inspiration, but I was the one to put it into motion.”

Raven scoffs good-naturedly. “As if your life wasn't lousy as well, O.”

“I'm alone but not lonely, Reyes.”

Brunch goes by without further ado and slowly - and after those not involved in cooking, Raven, Octavia and Bellamy, had finished cleaning, Harper, Monty and Jasper leave.

Clarke’s intention had been to actually help and Raven dragged her to the couch while she put down all the decoration from the living room. In the meantime they updated each other on their lives. 

Raven has just been promoted, which she says actually proves the saying  _ unlucky in love, lucky in business _ . Kyle had not only disappeared without warning but had actually quit her job and moved away. Before he blocked her on Instagram, Raven had seen a story of him on Toscany. Though the logic part of her understood he had his own issues to solve, another part of her felt hurt and sad - and that was the part Clarke was dealing with right now.

“You have every right to be upset, and don't be mad at yourself for feeling so,” she points out when Raven throws with unnecessary force a black heart into the bin.

“We only dated for three months. I didn't want to marry the guy.”

“I know. I'm just saying that you shouldn't have to swallow all up.”

They fall silent for a while Raven continues to put down decorations.

“You know what, Clarke? I still think you're the best thing I got from the divorce.”

Clarke grins.

“I think the same about you too.”

“Now that we talk about you, I'm supposed to pass along the message that you should date Bellamy or maybe just fuck him so you stop the eye-fucking in front of the kids and our waffles.”

Clarke's eyes shoot up into her hairline. “What!? Who said that?” A pause, and she adds: “I wasn't eye-fucking him.”

“Well, yesterday passing out when meeting him and having him spoon fed you paracetamol was kinda lovely, but when you feverish snuggled him and peck his neck was so cute you bend Octavia's jealous heart in your favour.”

“I did  _ what _ !?”

“You don't remember?” Raven sits on the couch, eyeing her suspiciously. “Nothing at all?”

“Clearly not! I wouldn't have been so chalantly sitting in front of him this morning.”

“Yeah. We thought you weren't, you flushed and flustered a few times. Not to mention he seemed to be mentally undressing you over the honey whenever you talked.”

“He was not! And I had a fever!”

Raven rolls her eyes.

“So you didn't fuck last night?”

“Raven! I was passed out on his bed!”

“Okay, okay. We got carried away. Sorry,” she gets up folding the red cloth that had been used as tablecloth the night before. “You did look nice, though. And I know first hand he's really good in bed, so I'll just say it would be more good than harm to give it a chance.”

“I'm going to pretend you didn't say that.”

“When's the last time you had sex? Please do not say Nyla. You really need to stop raising that girl's hopes.”

Clarke looks down. “It has been a while but I really don't have the time. I'm alone but not lonely like Octavia said.”

“Except O's just pretending she's not dating a guy she's in love with. She maybe moving to NYC on the spring to see each other more often if she finds a job there.”

Clarke's next excuse comes out as feeble as she has started to feel.

“I'm not looking for a booty call, and if I were, I wouldn't look for one 5 hours away from home.”

“I never said a booty call, Clarke, you are already overthinking.”

“Maybe. What happened with the Anti-Valentine spirit?”

Raven makes a dismissive sound. “Truth be told, we just wanted an excuse to hang out and drink. We all want to be loved.”

“Love's overrated.”

Raven shakes her head.

“That's heartbreak talking,” she gets up and walks to the front. “I'll take the trash out and be right back. Stay here.”

Clarke nods and it takes Raven longer to come back than she expected. Her intention is never to fall asleep, yet it is almost six when she opens her eyes again.

For the second time in 24 hours, she finds herself staring at Bellamy's face. Despite herself, she recoils against the  back of the couch, Raven's words too fresh still.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to startle. I'm supposed to pass a message,” he moves away, sitting on the armchair opposite her. “Raven got a date and she has left already.”

“Traitor.”

Bellamy smiled softly, “My words exactly.”

“We were supposed to institute the tradition of watching an action film every valentine's Day but I got ditched.”

“Well, I'm here,” Clarke stated, “though I won't promise I won't fall asleep.”

“Right, how's that going?” Bellamy inquired looking for the notebook on the coffee table before setting on the armchair with it on his lap.

“All good, I'm thinking if I don't run a fever tonight I'm good to go home and I already took measures to keep that from happening.”

“School?”

“Work actually. I got a job in an art gallery as receptionist. It's not the greatest job but I'm learning a lot.”

Bellamy looked up from the notebook, confused. “Thought you were studying medicine.”

“I was,” she breathed out deeply. “I changed paths last year, started school in New York and moved for the third time in my life” he looked at her questioningly. “I was at Stamford in California” there's a pause in which she grows uncomfortable under Bellamy's gaze. “ I'm surprised Raven hadn't mentioned it. She loves telling people she convinced me to follow my true calling, I'm her favourite deflecting topic when she has to talk about herself.”

“I never asked her about herself.”

“Oh, well. I just assumed that with her living with you and your sister...”

Bellamy shrugged. “Honestly, we needed the money and she seemed nice enough. Of course, we soon learned it was all a façade,” he smirked. “She was a sailor raised by wolves.”

Clarke chuckled along him. “It takes one to know one.”

“Guess you can say that,” he agreed. “My only requirements we that they could make rent every month and that they wouldn't be a threat to Octavia who spends most of the time at home.”

“Right, she finished school already.”

“Yeah. The first in our family.” Clarke's surprise is likely to be obvious on her face, because he adds: “I started working and quit on my third year, when my mom died.”

“Shoot, I'm so sorry. I didn't know.”

Bellamy shrugs dismissively and smiles sadly this time. “I aim to graduate next fall as a History teacher," and then he adds to change the subject: "Guess Raven didn't talk about me either.”

She thinks briefly of the conversation earlier in the day and before she can flush again, she shrugs as well.

“She just said you were nice,”  _ a nice fuck.  _ She shook her head softly and he laughed.

“You think she was lying.”

“I didn't say that. And I do think you're nice...” She trails off unsure to mention the moments she doesn't remember or the awkward one she does.

He doesn't give her time to choose.

“I don't think I'm nice, it's just being decent and helping out when I can.”

“You didn't need to give up your room.”

“And what would have been okay? Sleeping here? I even had to drag people away from the room, imagine sleeping there, you wouldn't have got any rest at all.”

Clarke find she's too tired to fight with his logic.

“In my book, where there are almost no good guys, you would have been one of those.”

He scoffs incredulously, but before she can retort he's up and past the kitchen door. His voice reaches her before the door closes: “Coffee, juice or beer?”

“Coffee.” 

It wouldn't be wise to mix alcohol and ibuprofen. She remembers the only time she did so after spraining her ankle three days before a party and she ended up sleeping in an unfamiliar house for twelve hours straight.

“So, how do you feel about The Fast and The Furious?” He asks, leaving a mug with coffee and milk and a plate with some crackers. He connects the laptop to the TV in between large gulps of beer.

Clarke shrugs. “Never seen it, but I'm in for any kind of tradition that doesn't imply that you need to be paired up with anyone on a specific date to be happy.”

Bellamy laughed. “I'm taking that as a full yes.” While the movie starts, he adds, “Why so bitter about an easily ignored commercial date? You could have easily joined our Anti Valentine's club.”

“Raven said it was just an excuse to hang out and drink.”

“Some of us take our membership more seriously than others.”

Since he kept on looking at her eagerly, Clarke sighed and breathed in deeply.

“I got dumped on Valentine's day. Twice.”

“I sense there's a story there.”

Clarke nodded. “I'd need something stronger than this to spill it out.”

Bellamy raised his palms. “No pushing here.”

“What about you?” She inquired, drinking a huge gulp of coffee - it was good.

He took his time to reply, he looked at the screen as the cars raced and drink his beer before replying. “My first serious girlfriend, she passed away. And my second girlfriend dumped me and moved to Canada,” another drink,” as made up a story as it sounds.

“That's rough, buddy. I'm sorry.”

There was a silence in which she felt a bit silly. Certainly a death makes you re-think your perspective.

“It's alright, it's been two years already - it's just that she loved this freaking holiday.”

They focus on watching the movie for a while. Clarke finds herself surprised of being actually interested and enjoying it but also, quite aware of Bellamy and interested in keeping the conversation flowing. It has been a while since she has felt this way about someone.

“What?”

He catches her staring and Clarke can't help but blushing slightly.

“I was just debating whether to apologize or pretend my behaviour last night never happened.”

Bellamy shrugs with half a smiling pulling up his lips. Clarke feels something funny in her stomach and little has to do with the coffee she keeps drinking even though it is now cold.

“I think that depends.”

“On what?”

“On how much you care that I don't want you to let it slide.”

A soft laugh escapes from her at that answer. He gets up and pushes the plate from the coffee table so he can sit. 

“Why?” She lets the mug on the table and looks at him intently. He's still smiling, which makes her smile too.

“Because I think you wanted to kiss me.”

Her body is way faster than her mind and she's already leaning closer to him.

“What gave you that idea?”

“When I was leaving and you grabbed my arm you stared at my mouth forever,” a pause and he looks down at her mouth and back into her eyes; he licks his lips and Clarke shivers slightly. “like you are doing right now.”

She can't help it, so she gives in closing the gap between them. He answers enthusiastically, his fingers bury in her hair as his tongue finds the way into her mouth.

The kiss grows in intensity and soon she finds herself straddling his lap. Clothes bother and they are soon discarded. He's soft and hard and hot, so hot. His mouth tastes like beer and something sweet, his hands are everywhere: her back, her butt, her breast; yet she needs more of him. 

They fuck three times with brief pauses in between. They are laying lazily on the couch, Clarke pecking his neck and 2fast, 2 furious on the TV, when they hear a car's door in the entrance.

They are up gathering clothes in one second and running up the stairs in another; until Bellamy realizes one of them was supposed to sleep on the couch. He quite literally jumps the distance remaining to the couch and greets Octavia loudly while Clarke disappears behind the close door of his bedroom.

Clarke jumps into bed in case Octavia wants to check on her. She can't say if Octavia actually checked on her because the next thing she knows is Bellamy getting into bed with her.

* * *

 

There's something cliché about getting together on Valentine's day. Clarke even considers it a bad omen. So she refuses to say they are hooking up at first and then to let other people know once she has accepted that.

She insisted in calling it a one night stand even though they fucked the next morning, she orgasmed as silently as possible against his hand as he took her from behind while Raven run in the hall getting ready for work.  The week after the party they hooked up again and still she wouldn't tell anyone.

When they meet on Easter because O's moving in with her in her spare room and Raven almost catches them with Bellamy's cock on her mouth in his sister's new room, she still doesn't tell her.

On June, when she starts to speak with him almost every hour of every day and not the sporadic excuse of one visiting the other (“I brought O's favourite dessert,” or “She asked me for this edition of this particular book”. Or “Raven told me to come pick up this document”, or “Jasper texted me and said you were getting together to watch the game.”

On the weekend of the 4th July Bellamy drops the L-bomb. They had been in bed, talking about how nice it'd be to spend the day in bed given they had the house for themselves - Raven was meeting this Luna's girl family after dating her since the Spring and Octavia had gone camping with her now steady boyfriend, Lincoln. 

Clarke's laugh had come out merely seconds at one of Bellamy's pathetic excuse of a  joke, when she blurted out the words. She could pretend she did not hear him had she not stopped abruptly mid-laugh and stared at him. A moment of silence follows, she senses he's growing uncomfortable under her gaze but can't help it. Her body of her own volition shuts her mind and voices the words back. As they kiss, Clarke relishes in the realization of how true her words and feelings are.

It is around New Year's that thing's start to go south. Bellamy's presence in her life is more evident than ever and even though they had set them aside, he still makes things up to tell the rest. Harper and Monty looked at Bellamy in confusion when she gets lost mid lie telling them he came to Chicago to bring her DVD of the Valentine's Day movie where Taylor Swift acted.

Bellamy shrugs and lets her come out of the lie on her own. In the end, it turns out that Monty and Harper couldn't care less as to why they run into them at McDonald's and they are just happy to see them. 

“I don't see why you had to lie to them. They didn't even ask,” he says as they get up taking their trays to the bin.

“As if they didn't have any reason to found suspicious that I was here when there are perfectly open and running McDonald's in New York.”

Bellamy rolls her eyes.

“Because they wouldn't stand the idea of you coming all the way here because you enjoy the pleasure of my company.”

Clarke doesn't roll her eyes at him just because he is walking back to the car with the same inscrutable expression he get when they discuss something like this.

“I don't get why you get like this.”

“Oh well, I don't get why I can't tell anyone we're dating.”

“We're not dating.”

The engine of the car coming to life softens the deafening silence settling but barely.

“What?” He says and sounds so indignant, Clarke takes briefly the eyes from the road to look at him.

“We're not dating,” she repeats it with less certainty. 

“Are you kidding me?” When she doesn't answer right away, Bellamy literally growls. “What the hell have we been doing these past months if not dating?”

“Having good sex?”

“I'm not finding this funny at all, Clarke.”

She feels kinda sorry for the students that will have to face that tone of voice and that look.

“I wasn't trying to,” she half lies. “It's just... what's the difference as to what we have right now?”

“Well, what we have right now it is dating because I thought it was when you drop by my house just to literally watch Netflix and chill. I'm not going back on this, if we are not dating,” he pauses and looks at her. “If we are not dating, then I don't think we should keep seeing each other.”

Clarke gapes for a few seconds. A part of her wants to yell at him that's emotional blackmail while another part yells at her that who does she think she's kidding? He's in love with the guy and a tiny part of her already knew they were dating.

“Fine.”

Bellamy grabs his face unceremoniously and plants a noisy kiss on her cheek undeterred at her complaints.

The rest of the drive is in peaceful silence.

“Can I stay over?” She asks, stopping the car on the entrance.

“Oh, I don't know, Octavia and I redefine the house rules for people staying over and we settled on allowing only engaged or partner status people.”

She gave him the pleasure of looking outraged.

“Come on in, you silly woman. Octavia does no longer live here.”

* * *

 

It is on the beginning of February that new problems arise. Bellamy, Octavia and Bellamy have been debating whether to celebrate the second edition of the Anti Valentine's party or the first one of a Valentine's one.

He tells his vote to Clarke over the phone and she hears his surprise when she tells him hers.

“I don't do Valentine.”

“Thankfully. I'm glad you're only doing me.”

Clarke snorts against her will, “I meant it. I'm not going if it's on Valentine's Day.”

“I'm not breaking up with you.”

“You are saying that on February 5th. Let's wait and see.”

“It will most likely be on the 13th anyway because it is a Sunday but it will be Valentine themed. 

“But why? It is a stupid and commercial date and your party was a lottad more original. 

Bellamy laughs now on the phone. 

“We got the idea from a rom-com, Clarke. We're not that original. Anyway, what's the difference?”

“It is on the expectations.”

“I thought you didn't care about what other people think.”

“I don't...  it's just... why change something that works?”

His next question throws her momentarily out of balance.

“Are you talking about us or the party?”

“No. Or yes, about the party. Or us. Or both,” she takes a deep breath. “Were you going to ask me if I thought it was a good idea to come clean in the party?”

Silence for log enough that we checks the call hasn't disconnected.

“Something along those lines.”

“Why?!”

“Why not? What's wrong with people knowing we're together?”

“Well now it can be considered utter betrayal and i don't a big announcement like you are sure to make.”

“I'm not. I was just going to drop a bit or two to Octavia and let Dr do the rest,” she can practically see him smirking. “and if people aren't happy at us together, then they shouldn't be around us”.

That reassures her a bit.

“Well, I'm still not going if it is on the 14th. I've got an exhibition booked and would probably run late.”

Bellamy is still complaining when she hangs up.

* * *

 

In the end, Raven has set the debate. What's the point in setting a tradition when you keep on changing it. Besides a party like this ha brought Clarke into their lives.

So Clarke finds herself at the house entrance she has crossed one thousand times and decides to kiss Bellamy, who she'd been running last minutes errands with, for luck, one more time or simply because she can when the door opens.

All three parties freeze, Clarke looks at Bellamy, who looks back at er before looking at Jasper. He's gathering air to shout, “Bellarke is a thing, Bellarke is a thing!” And he runs back into the living room with the two of them behind him.

All the people gathered there laugh and cheer and clap. Clarke laughs nervously and looks at Bellamy who raises his palms, defensive.

“I didn't do anything!”

“We did,” Raven says. Octavia is ecstatic at her side.

“We just wanted to let you know there's no need to hide.  _ We know.” _

“If Jasper hadn't opened the door, we have prepared a kind of intervention,” Monty explained while Harper turned on the TV and several pictures of Bellamy and Clarke in compromised situations played one by one.

It is later, almost at the very end of the party that she finds Bellamy again.

“Have you been hiding from me so I can't break up with you?” He asked hugging her from behind.

“Something like that.”

“Im not breaking up with you. I love you.”

She smiled - she still sort of feared the stupid date, but she was definitely loving February 13th for the second year in a row.

“I love you, too”


End file.
